Magnets and Synonyms
by Dreamicide
Summary: Because, in a way, we cannot help but be drawn to one another. Oneshot collection of Gym Leaders and Elite Four members interacting with others of their respective type. Chapter Two: Pentatonic Scale - Maylene has bitten off more than she can chew.
1. Steel: Tempered Steel

**Notes:** The beginning of a collection of oneshots, depicting interactions between members of Gyms and Elite Four with others of their respective specialties.

**Verse: **Game - D/P/P  
**Type:** Steel  
**Characters: **Jasmine, Steven Stone  
**Genre:** Friendship, Romance if you wish  
**Additional:** The music is so peaceful and relaxing. Listen to it on YouTube.

_**[gam·e·lan] **_

_(gām'ə-lān') n. An Indonesian orchestra composed mainly of tuned percussion instruments such as bamboo xylophones, wooden or metal chimes, and gongs._

* * *

**Tempered Steel**

The first time they met was in front of a strange villa.

"I – I'm sorry, I'll leave…" the girl hastily gasped out upon stumbling across the man, leisurely sitting on the marble steps and carefully examining a cleanly-cut slab of gemstone.

Jasmine had previously been visiting cities around the area before hearing of a special club where the Sinnoh Gym leaders would relax and have a quick battle, and the idea intrigued her enough to take a trip up to the special island – however, she soon found herself on quite the opposite end of the isle. Her lack of a map and sense of directions was reasonably upsetting, and ended up completely throwing her off on the route. Disoriented and rather embarrassed, she began meandering around the small area she was currently in, before finding herself standing in front of a man hunched over, seemingly in deep thought. It was when he suddenly looked up with a frown on his face that the girl blurted out her take of leave.

"No, no – it's all right," he replied calmly. The well-suited man slowly pocketed the stone slab before brushing off the legs of his dress-pants and stood up. "Actually, your being here is a good thing," his expression remained blank as he spoke, "This building right here belongs to me, but now I have no more use of it." Jasmine's eyebrows softly lowered, it was an awfully random thing to say to a complete stranger. "I need to make sure it is placed in someone else's possession before I leave – will you take it?"

…

Jasmine was flabbergasted.

"I – I – _what?_" she sputtered, taking a step back. In return, the strange man took a step toward her, closing the short-lived distance.

"No, no – it's all right," he said, repeating the same sentence he spoke to her at the beginning of their encounter, "It's a very nice villa, really. And the locals are friendly and the restaurants are _fantastic_."

Jasmine's forehead furrowed as her words got caught in her throat out of shock. Then, "Th-that's not…" she took a small hand and waved it frantically, "That's not impor – you _can't_ be _serious…!_" she finally exclaimed after stumbling over her words.

The man raised an eyebrow. "Of course I'm serious. The bistro down the street makes a special soup everyday – if you don't take my word for it, you can have a taste yourself."

The girl was positively exasperated. "That's…that's _not_ what I meant!" she held her hands up in discomfort, "I – I can't…just take a villa from a complete stranger," she explained.

"Of course you can – you're doing it right now."

"N-no, I am _not…_" Jasmine drew a hand to cover her reddening face – from embarrassment or anger, she didn't know. After a few stiff seconds of silence and allowing herself to calm down, the girl lowered her palm and said, "Um…you're trying to give away your personal villa to any soul that walks by…that does not sound a bit _ridiculous_ to you?...At all?"

The man held a hand up and stroked his chin, in deep thought. "So you're saying you don't want my villa?"

"I…I believe I've made that _clear_…"

The gentleman lowered his hand and gave a smile, "Well, then that's ok if you don't want it. I'll just have to find someone else. But _you're_ here now, and _you_ still have to try the bistro's soup, so let's go have some right now."

Jasmine's eyebrows rose up before the man's suggestion – more like _demand_ – processed in her brain. The past minute had been filled with such absurdity and confusion…and to top it off like a cherry on ice cream, he was asking her to have _lunch_ with him. She really should say no, she really should just take a quick bow and leave the premises as fast as she can…but instead she kept thinking about it. A second later, she burst out laughing – at the man's complete obliviousness, at the fact that she almost had a villa forced on her, and that they were _actually_ going to continue their encounter by dining at a local restaurant. She doubled over grasping her sides when the man began to laugh along with her for no particular reason, not understanding that she was laughing _at_ him.

_.o._

"I see…so you're not even from Sinnoh," the man identifying himself as Steven Stone mused, raising a small glass of lemon water to his face. "But wouldn't that be all the more reason to have a vacation home here?"

"I already told you," the petite girl slightly laughed, her eyes downcast, "I don't want the villa. Besides, this is a one-time visit, as far as I know. I don't plan on coming back here anytime soon."

Steven placed the glass back down on the coaster, drawing pictures into the moisture sweating off the ice-cold glass, "That's a real shame, it's a beautiful country."

"…Then you should _keep_ your villa..."

"But I _can't_," the man laughed.

A few moments later, a tray of piping hot bowls of soup was placed in front of the guests, and few words were spoken as Jasmine quietly sipped on a spoonful before nodding in agreement that the delicacy was truly delicious. The man smiled as he drank away his portion, carefully watching the girl enjoying her meal and company.

…

"Well, that was a nice little break from the day," Steven sighed as he pushed himself up from the barstool and slid his pocketbook over to the waiter.

"Yes…I agree," Jasmine softly smiled at her new strange friend, "I never would have thought to eat here before…so um, thank you for inviting me."

The gentleman turned over to the shy girl and beamed. "So, are you going to leave here and go off to find your destination, then?"

Jasmine thought about it. Then instead of answering, she asked, "And…what about you? Are you going back to your home now that you have no use of your villa?"

Steven blinked. Then, "I cannot leave until I have successfully given it away."

"…I see…Well, I have quite a trip ahead of me, traveling to the other side of the island…so, um, I should probably stock up on items and prepare myself for leaving…" the girl tucked some hair behind her ear as her gaze fell to her feet.

The man paused for a moment before the corners of his mouth twitched into a grin. "See you later then," was all he offered before turning on his heel and casually walking back to the direction of his vacation house. Jasmine held her hands together and softly smiled to herself, thinking about the unusual events that were just portrayed and this new person that had the ability to actually make her _shout_ within moments of meeting her.

_.o._

The second time they met was in front of a familiar villa.

The next morning, the girl timidly made her way over to the now-recognized building, cautiously watching for her new friend. But she was suddenly getting cold feet. Honestly, he was probably out forcing his villa down some poor citizen's throat at this very minute. _This…this is silly…_she suddenly thought to herself, eyeballing the doorway, _I really…should just make my way over to the Leader's Club…_

"Hey there, thought you would come back."

The voice emanating from Jasmine's backside made her jump with a start. She slowly twisted her head around to face the gentleman, her face beet-red in embarrassment.

"Now you _have_ to try this café's seafood, over here…"

…

"…And so this _kid_ here, the same kid who delivered my dad's letter to me from who knows _how_ long ago, sets off into the cave…only to emerge hours later carrying this _behemoth_ in his hands. Yes – he caught it, he _actually_ _caught_ _it_," Steven began laughing after seeing Jasmine's shocked face, "But yes, after that the weather returned to normal and we celebrated on that island for _months_," he chuckled as he raised the glass of water to his face. "Of course, not long after that I had to battle the hero himself – well, I say 'battle,' but it was more like him using me to mop the floor with."

"…That's _amazing_…" Jasmine breathed.

The man frowned. "Personally, the fact that he had become so strong in a matter of weeks _scares_ me."

Jasmine quietly sighed. "No, I meant the part about saving the country…"

…

"…I started to think that she just left and wouldn't bother coming back…well, I rather can't blame her – barking orders at her to grab an obscure potion all of a sudden, when she was only exploring the lighthouse…but the trainer did eventually come back…and Amphy healed up in no time," Jasmine gave a soft giggle, "I almost thought, 'Poor girl,' but then she immediately demanded I battle her, and since Amphy was feeling better, I was free to accept her challenge…and then, it did not take her long to swipe through my entire team," she ended the anecdote with a giggle. After concluding her story, Jasmine lightly picked a slice of bread and habitually munched on bits and pieces, waiting for her comrade to finish his drink and share his thoughts.

Once he did, Steven turned to her and asked, "That's pretty funny; we both got wiped out by seemingly-innocent rookie trainers. It's like an onslaught lately, all these prodigies popping up everywhere. By the way, what is your Gym's theme?"

"O-oh," Jasmine replied, "I specialize in the Steel Type," she lowered her gaze bashfully.

A pause.

Then, "I see," he gave her a broad smile. "That's a wonderful type, I think."

…

Dessert ended a long time ago, but the duo remained in their seats, casually talking about all sorts of subjects. About Jasmine's trip around Sinnoh, about Steven's hunt for rare stones, about pokémon battles, and a fair share of silly things as well.

"Have you ever heard of a gamelan?" Steven said one moment after Jasmine's last story concluded and their conversation hung in mid-air.

"A…what, now?" the girl tilted her head upon hearing the strange word.

"A gamelan," the man's lips curved into a smile, "it's a musical style from an exotic archipelago down south. To describe it…" he tried finding the words. Then, "You know what a symphony is, right?" Jasmine nodded. "Well it's similar to a symphony in that there are multiple instruments played at the same time, while a single person conducts the players."

"I see…" Jasmine murmured.

Steven continued, "But a gamelan has instruments that are completely different than what a symphony has. They are all mostly metallophones and gongs – sometimes a flute or some percussion. But the gamelan has a very _metal_ sound with their compositions. Multiple people hit metal bars and gongs with hammers – _each_ tuned to a different pitch."

The girl thought about the strange musical style that was new to her. "Have…have you ever seen one?" she asked.

The gentlemen looked to her and nodded. "Once. When I was down at one of the islands on an expedition for rare gemstones. One of the locals invited our team to a performance after a long day of work. It was…" he leaned back in his chair, a content smile on his face, "…one of the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard." He closed his eyes and seemed to be drowning in memories. For a few quiet moments, Jasmine sat awkwardly, waiting for him to say something else because she had nothing left to contribute.

"Anyway," he opened his eyes and spoke after some time thinking, "I was just telling you about the gamelan because the things I like most about them are the gongs."

Jasmine blinked.

"The different sizes you can have for them are _amazing_. Some of them you can fit in the palm of your hand. Others take as much as five men to lift. But here's the thing that makes them special: they always, _always_ come in pairs."

"…Pairs?" Jasmine repeated the last word. "That's strange; in symphonies they only use one…"

"Exactly," Steven grinned. "But in a gamelan, the gongs come in pairs. See, when they create the instruments, the metal-workers create two identical gongs, but then always tune them so that they're both different. Depending on the difference of the pitch, you can have a sound that wavers rapidly, or a tune that wavers slowly. The closer the pitches are to each other, the faster the wave. But no two gongs can ever be identical, or else the wave is lost. And when you hear someone strike the two different gongs…it almost tickles your skin."

"Wow…" the girl breathed in awe. The way Steven described the experience almost seemed magical. Suddenly, she had a strong desire. "I…I want to hear that…I want to go to a gamelan performance…" she said, each word stronger than the last.

Steven took a sip out of his drink and laughed. "Then I'll take you there sometime," he said. "The next time I go on an expedition there. I'll bring you along."

Jasmine's eyes fell to her lap as a blush swept across her cheeks, realizing that, like the time he invited her to the bistro, he had _demanded_ her to come, instead of properly _asking_. But, for some reason, she didn't mind.

"…Yes," she softly whispered, "I…I would love to go."

_.o._

The third time they met, they were saying goodbye.

"I found someone who's willing to take the villa," was the first sentence out of his mouth upon seeing the girl trotting to his direction. He watched her stop. And watched her face fall.

"Oh…I see…"she softly whispered. "Th-that's right, I've stocked up on supplies…I'm ready to finish _my_ journey, too…"

Steven gave a sigh. "Come on; don't act like it's the last time we'll ever hang out. We'll be having fun again in no time. Have you already forgotten my promise?"

Jasmine's eyes slightly widened before raising her eyes to his. "Promise?"

"The one where we go to the archipelago and watch a gamelan performance together."

Jasmine inwardly sighed. As oblivious as ever…She meant that she didn't realize that his demand to journey there was really a _promise_ he made to her. But still…the word somehow made her feel stronger. As if they made an unbreakable bond. Yes, that's right…it's not goodbye forever. It's just until next time. Suddenly a smile tugged at her lips. "Yes, we'll go to the archipelago…and we'll ring a pair of gongs together, right?"

"That's right." He smiled back at her.

_.o._

_.o._

_.o._

_Ring. Ring. Ring._

The woman started at the sharp tones before standing up out of her chair and making a mad dash – tripping over her feet trying to reach the PokéGear. Upon grabbing the phone in her hands, she fumbled with the device before finally pressing the green button and answering.

"O-Olivine City Gym, Leader Jasmine speaking," she said in one fluid breath of air, hand over her heart trying to calm herself down after the ordeal of nearly dying by panic attack.

"He – ah – we – "

"I – I'm sorry, you're breaking up on me…" she turned her head over to the side, propping the phone between her head and shoulders as she made her way back over to the table and began resuming the paperwork she was working on before the call. Honestly, the things the League would make her do now…organizing paperwork of the previous gym challengers? Really now…

"Hey – Jasmine – elan –"

"I…I'm sorry, I still can't hear you…" she grasped the phone once more as she strained her ears, trying to decipher the distorted sentences.

Suddenly the voice became loud and clear…and exasperated. "_Hey_, Jasmine, it's _Steven_, I'm calling about our _trip._"

…

Flat pause.

…

"…Who?"

A loud _clank_ met her ears, as if the person dropped the phone in shock. Then the sounds of hands scuffling around, picking it up. The person then spoke again, "Steven. _Steven Stone_. Don't _tell_ me you forgot about our promise, because then I'll just have to go to the archipelago without you."

…

"Oh my G –"

This time it was her turn to drop the phone, and the woman hastily grasped it back in her hands. Her heart suddenly began pounding as the words finally registered in her brain. "_Steven?_ Seriously, it's _you?_" Of course it was him; he was _always_ the only person who could ever get her to shout like this.

"_Yes_, it's me, Jasmine. Did you really forget that for a moment?" the voice sounded calm, and she could tell – it was definitely her dear friend. His voice had barely changed a _bit_.

"You…you…" her tone suddenly began to waver. After all this time without a single word to her, and he thought that he could just call out-of-the-blue one day as if only a week had passed? "You…_idiot_, do you…Do you _realize_…just _how many_…" she reached up and wiped away the moisture forming in the corners of her eyes, "…how many _years_ it's _been?_"

…

"Have you changed your mind since then? You don't want to go anymore?"

…Jasmine honestly doubted she could find another human being with the capability to always _completely miss the point_.

She sighed, but it was a mixture of frustration and laughter. "No, Steven…of _course_ I'm going." She smiled to herself, and there wasn't a doubt that Steven could hear the grin in her voice as she spoke, "I'm still mad at you, but…Let's go…and let's go ring those gongs…together."

_.o._

"_But here's the thing that makes gongs special: they always, __**always**__ come in pairs. The closer the pitches are to each other, the faster the wave. And when you hear someone strike the two different gongs…it almost tickles your skin."_

**end**_  
_


	2. Fighting: Pentatonic Scale

**Type:** Fighting  
**Characters:** Maylene, Bruno, and Brawly  
**Verse:** Game - HG/SS  
**Genre:** Well it is supposed to be Humor, but I am not very good at it you see.  
**Full Summary:** Even at an eating contest, Maylene finds herself biting off more than she can chew.  
**Additional:** Charles. The most original name ever. Oh, and I own nothing. Except Charles.

**

* * *

**

**Pentatonic Scale**

Once the infinite bowls of piping hot rice were placed at the bar in front of her, Maylene knew right then and there – she was in _Heaven_.

Using all of her willpower to wait until the referee blew his whistle, her glowing eyes rolled over every fine detail of the feast. White rice, egg, and seasoning, all mixed together perfectly in individual little bowls. A substance that always gives the false impression of being a humbling small meal – but has the ability to fill up a starving man with a single bowl. Truly, a fitting material to use for such an eating contest, she thought giddily. Maylene rubbed her hands over her stomach in a futile attempt to calm it down as she watched the steam wisp up from the rice and moisture filled her gums.

"And…_begin!_"

With lightning-fast reflexes that could only come from a person trained in the arts of fighting, Maylene shot out her hand to grasp a pair of chopsticks while using her other hand to scoop up her first bowl and thrust the edge to the tip of her mouth, shoveling mouthfuls of rice into her gaping gullet. Some stray grains fell out of the side of her mouth, but she didn't have time to think about them. After downing her first bowl in less than fifteen seconds, she grabbed the available iced glass of water and took a few swigs, forcing any stuck clumps down her throat. When she finished, the small girl gripped on a second bowl and began repeating her previous steps. Maylene barely made any noise as she devoured the food like a ravaged hyena.

"Over here we have Maylene, the tiny girl from Sinnoh, just _shoving_ down that rice as if it's an afternoon snack! Makes you wonder if _all_ Sinnoh-natives eat like this on a regular basis, if a little kid like her can do this no problem, right?" the announcer spoke into his microphone as he sat back in his chair at the front of the restaurant, chuckling to himself at the strange sight. Then he turned his head to the other spectators, "And over at the other side, we've got Charles, he was the third runner-up last year, let's see how he fares this yea – _OH_, looks like he couldn't contain it all! Ew, that's going to leave a stain…"

_Amateur_, Maylene rolled her eyes and grinned against the edge of the bowl as she continued gulping down the meal – a few minutes had passed and she was already at her twelfth bowl. She watched the man called Charles get up out of the corner of her eye before making his way over to the exit behind her.

As she grabbed over to the last currently available bowl (she may just have to steal someone else's rice if they weren't quick enough) and raised it up to her lips, a sudden force wacked against the back of her head and her face mashed itself into the once-perfectly molded bowl of rice, leaving a messy impression of her nose and lips. Out of shock, the cup dropped out of her hands and a screaming _crash_ met everyone's ears a moment later. Almost immediately the area grew quiet as fellow contestants ceased their competitive eating to crane their necks over and see what caused the broken glass.

The small girl only sat there, grains of rice sticking in her nose and on her cheeks, her eyebrows twitching in confusion and anger…What the hell just _happened? _Her last available bowl was now just a bunch of rice mixed with broken shards on the floor…and the cook had yet to come out and give her a whole new tray of food. This would cost her at _least_ two minutes or more of time. With _that_ much time wasted, she could potentially be placed in second – or _third_ – place before the cook gave her a refill! And then Maylene would actually have to pay – _pay!_ – for her food! Oh, whoever just cost her win is _so_ about to regret it. Redness rising in her face, she whipped her head around, pink hair brushing furiously against the perpetrator's elbow.

"What was _that_ for?" she shouted at the strange man standing behind her.

Tulip tinted eyes met the broad backside of a shirtless man with raven hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. As she shouted to him again ("Hey, I'm talking to you!"), the man slowly turned around and looked at her with tightly squinted eyes and relaxed eyebrows.

"Sorry about that…I tripped," his deep voice casually apologized.

Maylene continued glaring at him, stunned.

Then, "What? That's _all?_ Listen here, you just cost me my _win,_ you clumsy caveman!"

The man's expression did not change. "I said I was sorry, and that is the truth. Excuse me," he turned his head back around for a second before shuffling his feet, and began making his way toward the restaurant entrance. The girl was about to stand up in her seat and continue shouting at him, however one of the cooks suddenly appeared before her with a full tray of rice bowls neatly placed in his hands. Maylene stopped for a second to think, and then concluded that if she put a step on it she could still have a chance of winning, and grabbed the nearest bowl before resuming her eat-a-thon. As she scooped the mix of egg and seasoning into her gullet, the strange almost-competition-ruiner stayed clear in the back of her mind.

…

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I think it's pretty clear who the winner is," the announcer's voice resonated through the restaurant after thirty minutes of competitive eating. Making his way over to the center of the bar and meandering around the towers of bowls, he took the hand of the little girl and raised it up above her head. "Maylene of Sinnoh, everybody! As the victor, she will have her massive bill paid for on the house, as well as –"

"Hey," Maylene wriggled her arm out of the announcers hand and gave an intent glare to the man, before sharply whispering, "_Where'd that caveman go_."

The man looked at her quizzically, before lowering the microphone from his mouth. "I'm sorry?"

"The guy! The guy that messed me up and nearly made me lose!" she hissed through her teeth. "After he left, where did he go?"

The announcer continued giving her a puzzled look. "I…I think he turned to the right after leaving the building…maybe over to the fountain," he admitted. "But he's gone now, so don't you want your prize?" he asked, holding up a fine-sized cheque with a generously large number printed on it.

"I'll come back for it after I finish kicking his ass!" Maylene roared to the entire restaurant before leaping up from her seat and dashing out through the glass doors, leaving a small comical puff of dust in her wake.

The poor announcer was left standing alone in the center of the room, microphone and cheque gripped neatly in his hands. "W-well," he raised the amplifier up to his mouth after a stiff moment, "Looks like our winner has…some sort of errand to do," the area became filled with sniggers, for everyone clearly heard what her so-called 'errand' was, "But she says she'll be back, so I'll just go ahead and present the second and third-place winners with their prizes."

_.o._

Maylene shot out of the building like a dart and twisted her way to the right, her destination being the Celadon fountain she remembered passing on the way to the eat-a-thon. As she raced down the streets, forcing unaware citizens to dodge out of her path of destruction, a flash of white emanated from her pokéball belt and her lucario materialized out of thin air, running beside of her.

The fighting trainer looked over to her pokémon, sweat beading on her forehead, "What're you doing?" she asked, bemused.

The lucario merely glanced to her and gave a grunt.

"This isn't a _pokémon_ battle, here, it's something between humans. Just going to go kick that guy's ass," she nonchalantly declared as the outer edge of the marble fountain came into view. The lucario gave another grunt in response, but refused to go back into its ball, non-verbally vowing to protect her if anything went wrong. Maylene gave a grin upon catching a glimpse of the familiar broad back and pulled-back raven mane, and began cracking her knuckles in anticipation.

"_Hey, you!_" the girl called out before turning her run into a lightning sprint. Maylene watched the man slowly turn around with the same non-expressive face as she leapt into the air, her arms outstretched and her feet clamped together, turning herself into a missile aiming right for the man's collarbone.

With a rapid reflex that escaped even the eyes of Maylene, the man spun all the way around on his feet and held up his arms over his face in a cross position. As her pointed feet collided with his forearms, the man's stature slid back a few inches as he whipped out one of his hands and seized one of the girl's ankles tightly in his closed fist. Maylene had absolutely no time to react as her opponent spun around and forcefully flung her back in the direction she came from; colliding into her lucario's outstretched arms and giving a big "_Oof!_" from having the wind momentarily knocked out of her.

The bulky opponent remained in his position, arms held up at chest length waiting for the girl's responding attack. Instead, Maylene leaned against her pokémon as she caught her breath back, her hand over her heart.

After a few moments of heavy breathing, she found her bearings again. "_Hey!_" she suddenly straightened her spine up and whipped her hand out, finger pointing accusingly to the man's face. "So tell me, what kind of a low-life hits a _girl?_" she demanded, pointing her bandaged nose up in the air out of spite.

The indicted man only raised an eyebrow. "You were the one who attacked _me_," he said calmly.

Maylene's finger slumped pathetically. "…Er," a light blush formed over her cheeks. "Th-that's not the point! You were the one who nearly made me lose back there at the eat-a-thon in the first place!"

The man gave a sigh through his nose and crossed his arms over his chest. "So you're saying I should have _let_ you break my neck just now?"

Before Maylene had a chance to retort, another young man ran in from the corner of her eye, waving his arm frantically.

"Bruno, what the hell's going on here?" the blue-haired man called as he neared his companion, casting a sideways glance over to the little girl. "I was trying to get us some Protein Shakes but then I heard some voice yelling at you…" he drifted off as he continued looking over to Maylene. Then, "Hey, you're the girl from the restaurant!" he shouted as he pointed toward her.

Maylene crossed her arms indignantly. "That's right," she growled, "I was just getting revenge on your friend here, got a _problem_ with that?"

The newcomer maintained his stare over to the girl…before giving a snort and covering his head with his palm. "Are you kidding me?" he asked in between guffaws.

The light blush increased its intensity across her face. "Wh-what's so _funny?_" Maylene demanded, uncrossing her arms and holding them out in fists. Proclaiming her intent of a fight wasn't exactly something she wanted to have laughed at, and her fists open and closed heatedly at her sides. "Don't underestimate me just 'cause I'm a little girl!" she hissed.

The man continued to laugh. "No, dude, you made Bruno nearly slip over himself just now, I'm definitely not _doubting_ you or anything," he waved his hand in front of himself as the companion named Bruno cast a glance toward him, obviously still coming to terms with the fact that he had indeed almost stumbled, "But little missy, you're getting your priorities a little _messed up_ here."

Maylene raised her eyebrow. "And just what does _that_ mean?"

"Brawly," the burly man gave a sigh as he turned his squinted eyes over to the opposite direction. "Leave it. We need to get going, or we'll miss the Seagallop ferry." He didn't wait for the companion to respond before pivoting on his feet and walking away.

"_Hey_, wait a minute," the man named Brawly extended his hand toward Bruno's back, but the muscled man ignored him and continued increasing the distance. "Jeez," he ran a hair through his cerulean hair before looking down to the girl standing before him.

Maylene crossed her arms again, a frown implanted firmly in her cheeks.

"Listen," Brawly began, "Bruno wasn't trying to _thwart_ you or anything back there at the restaurant."

"Pff," the girl scoffed, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, "_That's_ believable. Not. You're telling me that the caveman honest-to-God tripped _right_ behind my seat, and instead of catching himself on his own he decided to use my _head_ as an elbow cushion?" she rolled her eyes, and her lucario made a slight chuckle.

Brawly gave a sigh. "No, that's _not_ what I'm saying," he once again drew a palm to his forehead, "Bruno was actually trying to _help_ you."

Maylene blinked. Then her eyebrow cocked. She could stand there and shout "_What?_" but it was obvious the man had a story, so she didn't say anything, instead waiting for the man to continue his explanation.

Brawly lowered his hand and looked at her with a serious face. "Do you remember any of the other contestants there?"

"…Er," she tilted her head at the random question before thinking about it. "I…guess I remember a few."

"Well, Bruno and I were there at the contest ourselves, watching everyone stuff themselves silly – well, mostly watching _you_, since you were rather an unusual sight after all," he added with a laugh. "But after the first few minutes of the contest, this one dude sat up and puked all over himself, it was _crazy_ how fast it took him to regurgitate everything…"

"_And over at the other side, we've got Charles, he was the third runner-up last year, let's see how he fares this yea – OH, looks like he couldn't contain it all! Ew, that's going to leave a stain…"_ the memory of the announcers flamboyant words flew back into Maylene's head as her eyes widened slightly.

"Yeah…yeah, I _do_ remember that guy," she admitted, "but I still don't really understand where you're going with this."

"Then you'll just have to keep listening to me, won't you?" Brawly gave a playful smile. "Anyway, Bruno and I saw the dude upchuck everywhere, and a couple of people came and helped him clean up before telling him that he was disqualified from the eat-a-thon."

"Yeah, and then he left after that," Maylene said, remembering the sight of the man making his way over to the exit behind her.

The blue-haired man shook his head disdainfully. "No, it might have _looked_ that way to you, but as soon as the guy was right behind you, he slid his foot under your seat and looked as if he was really close to knocking the chair out from under you."

…

"_What?_" the girl blurted out.

"Out of extreme jealousy that a small chick was beating him, is what I'm guessing," the man shrugged, "But I swear it's the truth, we both saw it with our own eyes. And then Bruno," he gestured over to the shrinking silhouette of the burly man over in the distance, still making his way over to their destination, "Bruno over there, just leaped out of his chair before I had a chance to say anything and sprinted over to you before just kicking the _hell_ out of that guy's foot out of the way…" Brawly then sighed, "Of course, when he kicked the guy's foot away, he swung his elbow behind him for balance, and with the extremely small space between the cheating bastard and you, Bruno ended up knocking you in the back of the head…and I know you can recall what's happened from there since."

Throughout his explanation, Maylene's heart began sinking deeper and deeper into her chest. So he was only trying to help her stay in the competition after all? And that was why he turned around to look at someone for a few seconds before leaving; he was glaring at the cheater? But…wait…

"Why didn't he just _say_ that?" Maylene shouted exasperatedly, throwing her arms in the air. "He could have just _told_ me that he was trying to help me instead of not saying anything and acting like he seriously just _tripped_ on me!"

The man gave a light chuckle and crossed his arms. "Now, I didn't personally talk to the big guy after he left – I stayed behind to watch the rest of the contest to make sure no one else tried anything fishy…and I left immediately after the contest ended and went off to buy those Protein Shakes, as I'm sure you remember as well. But since I know the guy like I do, I'm sure he didn't say anything because, in the end, he _didn't_ help you. That Charles guy was trying to trip you and get you out of the competition – and since he knocked your cranium around, Bruno thought he ended up doing just that – forcing you out of the eat-a-thon. What difference did it make as to _who_ messed you up, as long as it happened anyway? Of course, he didn't stick around long enough to see you actually _win_."

The girl began shaking her head, disbelief rolling around her skull. "He couldn't have just _explained_ everything? That would have made it all so much _easier!_"

"He's not much of a wordy person, as I'm sure you noticed," Brawly slightly laughed. "I'm sure he felt that he could deal with the blame of you hating him and move on…However, I'm _sure_ he wasn't expecting you to actually _follow_ him and attack him head on – quite _literally_. Now _that_ caught him off guard," he said, laughter once again flowing into his grin.

At his words, Maylene's glance fell to her feet and she took her hand to rub her shoulder, redness brushing across her face. "But…I really thought…I was so _mad_ at him…" she then lifted her eyes up to him after stumbling over her sentences for a few moments, "But he…didn't look all that surprised to _me_. He actually looked pretty well-prepared...as if he was _expecting_ me to come after him…"

At that moment Brawly burst out laughing. "Oh, _believe_ me; you startled the _hell_ out of that guy," he said, loud booming laughs decorating his words, "And can you _blame_ him? He nearly got torpedoed at by this petite little _chick!_" he began clutching his sides at the thought.

The blush intensified over her nose – thank God her bandage was hiding away a good deal of her embarrassment. "W-well," she turned her head over to lucario to avoid Brawly's eyes, "I-If what you're saying is true, then I got to go apologize to him right?"

It was then when Brawly's laughing slowly ceased. "Nah," he waved his hand, "Don't worry about it, he's probably already made his way over to the docks and is just impatiently waiting for me now."

"…Where're you going?"

"Quest Island," he answered her. "For some good old fashioned battle training."

Maylene stood in her spot and began thinking. Quest Island…she hadn't been there before, but knew it was available to exceptionally strong trainers. "People need a Rainbow Pass to get there…right?"

"That's right."

"…"

Brawly tilted his head over to the side at her silence. "Everything ok?"

The girl raised her head up, pink hair bouncing at the movement. "I'm fine…well, thanks for clearing everything up. I just wish I could go apologize to Bruno…"

"Hey, it's not a problem," Brawly flashed a smile and a wink to her, "I'm sure the big guy's not holding anything against you, he's probably still thinking he deserved it for messing your contest up, anyway."

For once, Maylene gave a soft smile. _But he didn't really deserve it at all if he was only helping me, _she thought. "…Well," she straightened her back and looked straight into Brawly's eyes, "You should get going, then, if Bruno's waiting for you. You shouldn't miss your ship," she slightly widened her smile.

Brawly flashed another grin. "Well, all right then, you take care of yourself now. Sit in a beanbag chair or something next time you take part in a contest!" He gave a strong wave with his hand before turning around on his feet and dashing out to the direction that his companion had left in a few minutes before.

…

"_Sigh_," after the blue-haired man disappeared, Maylene stretched her arms before walking over to the edge of the marble fountain and plopping herself down on the white rock-hard decoration. Her lucario followed suit, and as it sat down next to her she turned to her companion and gave it a grin.

"Quest Island, huh…?" she muttered slightly, giving her lucario a rub on the head. "Well, he _did_ say that you need a Rainbow Pass to get there… I wonder where they got theirs…"

The pokémon gave her a look, obviously understanding where the predictable little ball of energy was headed with her words.

…

"Ok, Lucario!" she suddenly sat up straight and began shouting out to the streets, "Let's go get that Rainbow Pass and meet up with Bruno and Brawly! If I beat him, then it's still his fault!" she yelled out playfully, outstretching her arms so that she could try to grab the sun. "If _he_ beats _me_, then _I'll_ apologize!" she looked over to her pokémon, "Well, whaddaya think of that plan?" her eyes overflowed with determination and brightness as she flashed her best smile to her friend, giving it a thumbs up.

The lucario offered no grunts, instead silently placing a paw over its eyes. Somehow…it knew that by the end of the day, its master was going to end up on the ground, giving the burly man the biggest apology of her life. But, it softly chuckled to itself, that was probably her original plan anyway.

**end**


End file.
